The Government shocked the stock markets this Tuesday by announcing by surprise that the State, through the State Society of Industrial Participations (SEPI), will buy 10% of the capital of Telefónica, which would make it the operator's first shareholder. . The Executive has justified the operation due to the strategic nature of the company in terms of security and defense. But he has also emphasized the need to guarantee the “shareholding stability” of the multinational. Both the SEPI, the Ministry of Finance and the vice president and minister of Economy, Nadia Calviño, have appealed to this stability to justify the operation. And the Government wants to send a clear and resounding message to its Saudi counterpart in response to the unannounced entry into the capital of the Spanish multinational Saudi Telecom Company (STC). The operator owned by the sovereign fund PIF took off on September 5 with the announcement of the purchase of 4.9% of the capital with the option of another 5% through convertible financial instruments, for 2.1 billion.
Three and a half months later, the Government's response has arrived with the same formula used by the Saudis: the announcement, at the close of the market, and without official knowledge on the part of the operator's board, of the purchase of up to 10% of Telefónica . Even the amount, as long as the securities are not triggered, is similar to that paid by STC. This is a defensive movement but one that seeks to put an end to any doubt about the control of the main Spanish technology and telecommunications company. To this end, once it takes that 10%, the Government will seek to articulate a stable pact with BBVA and La Caixa (and its foundation), the two largest shareholders of Telefónica, in order to guarantee this “shareholding stability.” long-awaited, as EL PAÍS has learned from sources familiar with the operation.
The objective is to prevent the entry of the Saudis into the council from unsettling the current forces. When it completes the acquisition of 9.9% of the capital, STC can claim one or two directors, but they would be immediately balanced by those that SEPI would request, for its 10% of the capital. Both CaixaBank-Criteria (6.03% of capital) and BBVA (4.87%) each have one proprietary director (Isidro Fainé and José María Abril, respectively). To them, we must add the two executive directors, in this case, the president of Telefónica (José María Álvarez-Pallete) and the CEO (Ángel Vilá), and the external director Javier de Paz, related to the PSOE. The rest, up to 15 members, are independent. Given a hypothetical takeover of STC on the board, even with a possible alliance with the Blackrock fund, which could request a position on the governing body for its 4.48% of the capital, it would be deactivated by the new balance of forces.
The alliance between BBVA and La Caixa in Telefónica is not new. They already acted as a block before the complete privatization in what was called the “hard core” of Telefónica under the last Government of Felipe González. And they also share the concern, along with the company's two top executives, about the ways in which STC entered the capital. The emergence of the Saudis caught Pallete on a trip in San José (USA), and he had to return in a hurry on the private plane bound for Riyadh, to ask for explanations from the new investors on the same day that the news became known. operation.
In the several meetings they have had since then with the Telefónica leadership, the Saudis have tried to calm the waters, ensuring that it is an industrial investment and that, therefore, it is made through STC and not directly from the fund. sovereign, as in other financial or more speculative operations, according to sources familiar with the conversations. They have also given their support to the management of the company, with which they maintain a strategic alliance, precisely in terms of security, sealed last February. But these meetings have not served to reveal the final intentions of the new partners and the role they want to play in the future of the company. The example of Vodafone, where Etisalat, the telecommunications group from the United Arab Emirates, has taken 25% of the capital and has dynamited the board to influence strategic decisions, such as the sale of the Spanish subsidiary to Zegona, caused fear in the offices of District C, Madrid headquarters of Telefónica, and in the Moncloa Palace. “And Vodafone does not have defense contracts with the British government,” a sector executive pointed out this Tuesday.
The Government has preferred to wait and see before taking this step, which can be interpreted as a show of interventionism in private companies, as has already been reported by the Popular Party. But the lack of definition of STC, which has delayed sine die the request for authorization from the Ministry of Defense to make effective the taking of 9.9% of the capital, have finally decided the Government to take this last step.
Although officially the board of directors of the operator has not commented on the operation of SEPI (it only issued a relevant fact in which it mentioned the objective of creating value for the shareholder contained in its strategic plan), the cited sources point out because both Pallete, BBVA and La Caixa were aware of the Government's intention “although not necessarily of its exact schedule.” In fact, in the previous weeks there have been numerous contacts between all parties.
CaixaBank, the La Caixa Foundation and BBVA have not made statements about the Government's move for SEPI to become a shareholder in Telefónica, reports Hugo Gutierrez. Although various sources in the sector consider this movement positive, they believe it provides stability from a shareholder point of view. For the Catalan bank, it is a strategic investment that they want to maintain at the current level, as they have assured since STC's interest became known. Like BBVA, which also has no intention of leaving telecom. “It is positive that there is investor appetite for Telefónica and that they provide stability,” said its CEO, Onur Genç, in the latest results presentation on Saudi interest.
Political reactions
The matter has not taken long to jump into the political arena, even within the Government itself. Sumar's spokesperson in Congress, Marta Lois, wanted to take credit for the operation for its formation, ensuring that it “fundamentally responds to a demand” that Yolanda Díaz “transferred” to Nadia Calviño to “recover such a strategic company for the State.” like Telefónica.” Yolanda Díaz herself recalled that demand when the entry of STC into Telefónica became known. “The State must be present in the strategic companies of our country. We said months ago that it was necessary. Today it is a reality,” the minister said through her X account.
For his part, the PP Deputy Secretary of Economy, Juan Bravo, has accused the Government of interventionism for wanting to “occupy” the private sector and has stated that there is no justified reason for the acquisition of up to 10% of Telefónica. “Without a doubt it is a position of intervention on the part of the Government, which the only purpose it has is to occupy, in this case to start with the private sector,” he stated in statements in Congress after reproaching the Executive for not having communicated this decision. previously to the leader of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, and that he learned of the news through the media.
The leader of Vox, Santiago Abascal, views the operation and the reasons given for it with “total distrust.” “The Government never intends to defend the strategic sectors of Spain, but, in any case, to acquire greater power,” he stated. The spokesperson for Esquerra Republicana (ERC) in Congress, Gabriel Rufián, has gone further, who has advocated for the complete nationalization of Telefónica so that it is not “at the service of the market, in the worst possible sense.”
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